Buying a home in Ibiza costs considerably more than the price, and selling one has its own bill. The Balearics apply Spain’s highest transfer-tax scale — 8 to 13 per cent in brackets — and the taxable base is no longer what you pay but the higher of the price and the cadastral reference value, a nuance that springs surprises on Ibiza’s rustic properties. Here is the operation’s full tax map: what the buyer pays, what the buyer withholds, what the seller owes, and what arrives every year afterwards.
Resales: the bracketed transfer tax
A purchase between private parties is taxed under the transfer tax (ITP) with a progressive scale starting at 8% and reaching 13% on the portion exceeding two million euros; the calculation runs by brackets, not by applying the top rate to the whole price. The buyer files and pays before the Balearic tax agency, using form 600, within thirty working days of the deed. Reduced rates exist for main homes and young buyers within certain value limits, irrelevant to the upper segment of the market.
The taxable base: the reference value
Since 2022 the tax is computed on the higher of the deed price and the cadastral reference value. Checking it before signing the arras is, in practice, mandatory: if it exceeds the price, the tax rises even where the deal was a bargain, and disputing it means challenging the assessment with expert evidence. On rustic estates and singular homes, where the reference value fits reality worst, the prior check saves broken budgets.
New builds and the other purchase costs
The first transfer of a new build pays no ITP but 10% VAT plus stamp duty at a general rate of 1.5%. Every purchase adds notary, registry, filing agent and, where applicable, financing costs. As a rule of thumb, a mid-segment resale requires budgeting around an extra 10% over the price, and top-bracket deals approach 14%.
What the seller owes (and the buyer withholds)
The seller is taxed on the gain — under personal income tax if resident, under non-resident income tax otherwise — and bears the municipal land-value tax (plusvalía). Where the seller is non-resident, the law turns the buyer into a guarantor: the buyer must withhold 3% of the price and pay it in with form 211 on account of the seller’s gain, and answers for the municipal plusvalía as substitute taxpayer. Forgetting these withholdings is among the costliest mistakes available to a buyer who did everything else right.
The annual bill and the investment structure
After completion come the IBI property tax and municipal charges and, for non-residents, the annual deemed-income tax or the taxation of rental income obtained; large estates may also trigger wealth tax under the Balearic rules in force each year. Anyone considering buying through a company should know there is no automatic advantage: the structure only pays off with real operation and substance, and a personally enjoyed home inside a company creates more tax problems than it solves. And one change of context for non-EU investors: the real-estate golden visa was abolished with effect from April 2025, so residency no longer travels with the deed.
Frequently asked questions
What do I pay if I buy at 3 million?
The ITP runs by brackets up to 13% on the excess over two million; with costs, the deal lands around an extra 13-14% over the price. The exact figure depends on the reference value.
Can I put a price below the reference value in the deed?
You can deed the real price, but the tax will be assessed on the reference value if higher — and lowering the deed price to save tax is fraud with a short runway.
I am buying from a non-resident German seller — what do I withhold?
3% of the price, paid in with form 211 within one month, plus making sure the municipal plusvalía is settled. Without that withholding, the tax office can go against the property.
Does the golden visa still exist?
The one tied to property purchases was abolished with effect from April 2025. Current residency routes are unrelated to real-estate investment.